#MandelaDay: Five unique ways you can honour Madiba's legacy

A child plants a kiss on the statue of Madiba at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in Johannesburg. Picture: Muhammed Muheisen/AP

Nelson Mandela's birthday may be more than two weeks away, but there are already a number of activities you can participate in to honour his contribution to building a better South Africa.

Instead of making the same old sandwiches for Mandela Day, why not enhance your haircut with a "Madiba Line" in honour of his 100th birthday? The Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF), in partnership with Philips, is hosting a
Shaving to Remember event at
Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown on June 30th. The event, which starts at 11 am, promises to be great fun with live entertainment, food trucks and a team of 30 barbers ready to shave your "Madiba Line".

Habitat for Humanity South Africa (Habitat SA) in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Department of Human Settlements and local construction companies is honouring Madiba’s legacy by building 100 homes for 100 families in the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Habitat SA says its build events "fosters greater understanding of shelter, poverty and unemployment issues in the community and builds relationships across all cultural divides".

“At Habitat for Humanity we believe in a world where everyone has a decent place to live, here in South Africa we bring people together to build homes, communities and hope,” says the organisation’s national director Patrick Kulati.

Habitat SA believes that the security of a home represents the foundation for low-income South African families to break free from their cycle of poverty. Picture: Supplied

During
Mandela Day Team Build Week, July 16 to 20, the public has been asked to show their support for the initiative using these hashtags:
#RememberingMandela #BeTheLegacy #NM100 #ActionAgainstPoverty to increase awareness.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of the build was to work alongside the home partners. The excitement they felt putting together the bricks of their future home was infectious and I am so grateful to have been a part of that. I look forward to the day I can return to visit the new friends I have made,” said volunteer
Shari Blanc.

Last year Tsogo Sun, seen here, visited Tafta Lodge o do their 67 minutes of service.

What better way to celebrate the birthday of SA's most famous senior citizen than helping to ease the plight of other elderly people in need? Under the theme #BeTheLegacy
, The Association for the Aged
is inviting resident of Durban to spend
their 67 Mandela minutes at Tafta homes this year. To find how you can help, visit their
website
or check out their
Facebook page
.

Fives Futbol and Totalsports team up annually for the Plant a Ball initiative which aims to continue Madiba’s legacy of using sport to initiate change and inspire hope. The
Mandela Day Football Giveaway
uses the gifting of soccer balls to kick-start growth. Each ball ‘planted’ represents an opportunity for change with immeasurable and unlimited potential. Support a local initiative for free by clicking
here
or click
here
if you want to donate a ball to the initiative.

Watch last year's video:

Fancy celebrating Madiba's birthday with some fine threads and fabulous music instead of brick dust and back pain? Then the Minnesota Orchestra's
Music for Mandela project has something special just for you.

The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra launched its Music for Mandela project at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis this week. Led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, the orchestra will perform a multi-week music festival dedicated to Madiba in its home city this July.

The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra will arrive in South Africa in August for a five-city tour, celebrating the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela. The first professional orchestra to visit SA will be bringing with them 90 members and a special tribute by Bongani Ndodana-Breen entitled Harmonia Ubuntu has been commissioned for their tour.